Tag Archives: Ledaig Record Breakers

THE AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT IN THE SPANKING NEW LEDAIG WEIGHT ROOM WAS WORKING HARD IN A FUTILE ATTEMPT TO COOL THE 7 LIFTERS WHO WERE PRESENT TO BREAK RECORDS AND SHARE IN THE camaraderie OF THE IRON. AGAIN, THIS YEAR, HEAT AND HUMIDITY WERE STIFLING BUT, UNDETERED, RECORDS FELL AND THE NEW BORN WEIGHT ROOM HAD IT’S BAPTISM.

CHAD ULLOM CONTINUES TO AMAZE ME. HAVING SPENT THE WHOLE DAY PRIOR IN 100 DEGREE TEMPS, NOT TO MENTION TRYING TO GIVE MOUTH TO MOUTH RESUSITATION TO A SCOTCH BOTTLE THAT EVENING PRIOR, HE CAME TO LIFT SOME SERIOUS NUMBERS. 510# ON A NO THUMBS DL WOULD MAKE A LOAD FOR MOST FOLKS IN THE NORMAL GRIP!! CHAD PULLED IT WITH NO PROBLEM. ANOTHER OUTSTANDING LIFT WAS THE 95# FULL GARDENER. THIS LIFT TAKES SO MANY ATTRIBUTES THAT, IN MY OPINION, IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED THE BEST GAUGE OF STRENGTH, ENDURANCE AND ATHLETIC ABILITY THERE IS.

HAVING DRIVEN ALMOST THREE HOURS THAT MORNING TO GET THERE, BEN EDWARDS SHOWED HIS MASTERY OF THE GRIP LIFTS. TAKING 312# IN THE DEADLIFT, FULTON BAR, CIAVATTONE GRIP, HE FAIRLY RIPPED IT FROM THE FLOOR AND COULD HAVE DONE MUCH MORE. HIS V-BAR LIFTS HAVE TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED.

MIKE MURDOCK, ANOTHER SURVIVOR FROM THE PRIOR DAYS ACTIVITIES, WAS PRESENT AND READY TO GO. PRESSING 117# ON THE MAXEY PRESS GAVE HIM ALL THE CREDIBILITY HE NEEDED. HAVING BEEN INFORMED THAT THE BAR WAS, INDEED, 117#, INSTEAD OF 105#, HE BROKE OUT INTO A BIG SMILE. HOWEVER, AS IS HIS STYLE, HE MADE NO BIG SHOW OF IT. MIKE IS A TRUE, HUMBLE SPORTSMAN…….AND A VERY STRICT JUDGE!!

LOOKING FOR ENOUGH RECORDS TO BREAK THAT COVETED CENTURY MARK, DEAN ROSS WAS NOT AWARE, UNTIL AFTER WE HAD FINISHED, THAT HE HAD ALREADY SURPASSED THAT NUMBER. WITH THE VERY RECENT CHANGES IN THE CRITERIA OF ELEGIBILITY FOR A RECORD TO ‘COUNT’, DEAN WAS ALREADY THERE! REGARDLESS, DEAN CAME LOADED FOR BEAR AND PUT UP THIRTEEN NEW RECORDS!!

THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE LEDAIG TEAM AND THE USAWA, IS MY UNCLE KENNY ‘UNC’ GLASGOW. HE CAME TO ME ABOUT 4 MONTHS AGO INQUIRING IF HE COULD JOIN ME IN MY LIFTING!! HE HAS NOT MISSED A WORKOUT SINCE AND HAS PROVED TO BE A GREAT TRAINING PARTNER. SEVENTY FIVE YEARS OF AGE IS NOT A ‘NORMAL ‘ AGE TO START A LIFTING CAREER, BUT, HERE HE IS. WE HAVE TRAINED SEVERAL LIFTS IN ANTICIPATION OF THIS WEEKEND AND HE HIT EVERY ONE OF THE GOALS WE SET!!! OF PARTICULAR INTEREST WAS HIS DEADLIFT, ONE HAND, LEFT. MY RECORD LIST POSTED ONE NUMBER AND, COME TO FIND OUT, THE RECORD WAS 10# MORE THAN WE THOUGHT. A SHORT CONVERSATION FOLLOWED, ENDING WITH HIM SAYING, “LET’S GO GET IT!” SO, HE DID!!! WITH EASE!! THEN TURNED AROUND TO PULL 10 MORE POUNDS THAN THE POSTED RECORD!!! GREAT EFFORT, UNC!!!

HAVING GONE FULL THROTTLE FOR MORE THAN A WEEK BUILDING THE WEIGHT ROOM, PREPARATIONS FOR THE GAMES AND THEN ALL THE GENERAL ‘RUNNING AROUND’ ASSOCIATED IN MANAGING THINGS, I WAS NOT ANXIOUS TO DO ANY LIFTING. MY BUTT WAS DRAGGING AS AN OLD, TIRED COON DOG WHO HAD BEEN RUN ALL NIGHT. HOWEVER, WHEN THE INCH BAR WAS PULLED OUT, I KNEW I HAD TO DO A COUPLE RECORDS JUST SO I COULD SAY I DID IT IN RECOGNITION OF THE VIRGIN FACILITY.

FINALLY, WHILE LARRY ‘FLOYD’ TRAUB DID NOT LIFT, I NEED TO MENTION THAT IT WAS DUE TO HIS HARD WORK, DEDICATION AND FRIENDSHIP THAT WE HAD A FACILITY AT ALL. IT IS NOT MANY FOLKS WHO WOULD WORK IN 100 DEGREE TEMPERATURES, 14 TO 16 HOUR DAYS, FOR A WEEK TO HELP OUT A FRIEND. AS HE HAD TO LEAVE THE DAY OF THE RECORD BREAKERS, HE WAS MAKING A ‘TO DO LIST’ FOR ME TO FINISH THE PROJECT. I AM TRULY BLESSED AND HUMBLED THAT HE WOULD DO THIS FOR ME. WORDS CAN NOT CONVEY MY APPRECIATION. TO QUOTE FORREST GUMP, “EVEN I KNOW THAT FRIENDSHIP LIKE THAT DOES’NT COME AROUND EVERY DAY.” ENOUGH SAID……

SUNDAY, 31 JULY-2011 SAW SEVEN STRENGTH AFICIONADOS CONVERGE ON THE GLASGOW HOMESTEAD TO TEST THEIR ENDURANCE AGAINST THE WEIGHTS, AS WELL AS THE HEAT. THIS RECORD BREAKERS DAY HAS BECOME KNOWN AS THE ANNUAL “SWEAT FEST” FOR GOOD REASON. TEMPERATURES IN JULY CAN BE BRUTAL IN SOUTHERN KANSAS AND THIS DAY WAS NO DIFFERENT.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT FOUR OF THESE ATHLETES PARTICIPATED IN THE LEDAIG HIGHLAND GAMES THE DAY PRIOR. NINE EVENTS IN LESS THAN SEVEN HOURS DRAINED A LOT OF ENERGY BUT NOT WILLPOWER FROM THOSE THAT WERE ‘DOUBLE DIPPING’. AT 71 YEARS OLD, MIKE MURDOCK, WHO IS A STAPLE AT THE LEDAIG FACILITY, IS THE OLDEST OF OUR PARTICIPANTS. YOU KNOW HE HAD TO HAVE SLEPT WELL THAT NIGHT!! CHAD ULLOM, THOM VAN VLECK AND AMBER GLASGOW WERE THE OTHERS WHO SAW ACTION BOTH DAYS. BELIEVE ME, IT’S TAKES SOMETHING EXTRA TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO DO THIS EVENT BOTH DAYS. ROUNDING OUT THE CROWD WERE AL AND MOLLY MYERS, AS WELL AS EVENT COORDINATOR, DAVE GLASGOW.

GRACIOUS HOSTS ‘UNC’ KENNY GLASGOW AND AUNT JO GLASGOW PROVIDED THE VENUE AS WELL AS A FINE MEAL FOLLOWING THE EVENT. WE WERE TREATED TO ANOTHER PULLED PORK LUNCH WITH ALL THE FIXIN’S AND GIVEN HONORED SEATS AT THE MAIN TABLE. THIS WAS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED BY ALL PARTICIPANTS!!

WE WILL DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR. PLAN FOR IT IN JULY!! AFTER ALL, IT WOULDN’T BE THE ‘SWEAT FEST’, WERE IT NOT IN JULY!!